Could you give us a bit more on the whys and wherefors? Also on the NTU facility. My local hospital is McKay Hospital on Zhongshan North Road Section 2 - any experiences? Also with smaller family clinics - any good?
I only know NTU and that big one near TianMu (forgot the name :P). My wife asked around looking for good guy in Taipei and I ended up seeing a guy at NTU.
I could get his info and share via PM if someone was interested.
Itās much different in Taiwan than in the States. Iāve also gone to NTU. Itās basically like going to see any other doctor, they try to get you out as soon as possible. Psychiatrists here are only for meds, they donāt do the talking sessions with you. If you want to talk with someone, you have to arrange for that separately and thereās usually a waiting list since there are not enough qualified counselors to meet with the demand. The upside, however, is that itās VERY cheap compared to back home if you have the NHI.
Thereās a doc č¬č³ę¦® Wan4 Fang1rong2 at the äøč»ēø½é«é¢ San3 Jun1 Zong3 Yi1yuan4 hospital on Minquan and Chenggong in Neihu, Taipei who reputedly takes extra time to talk with folks, without too bad a waiting list.
Has anyone ever told a doctor/psychiatrist that theyāve been having suicidal ideations at a hospital in Taiwan?
Will the doctor commit you to the psych ward? Is it better to leave that information out of the visit?
Be honest. I was and have them occationally. The doctor didnāt pass me, even with my depressive history. I think it just helps them be able to determine what doseage of meds to put you on. Best of luck, cyber.
Iāve never had those kind of thoughts (thankfully), but on my first visit, the doctor did ask me ā¦ which I think is a good sign. Even in the States, though, itās not true that theyāll lock you up in the psych ward if you admit that youāve had thoughts of suicide. They make a judgment based on whether they think that you are an immediate threat to yourself or not. If youāve thought about it before, Iād say it would be ok to mention it to them. I doubt theyād lock you up before making a more thorough diagnosis. 
Iāve learned that if you really want to receive the best possible treatment for your specific situation, itās always best to be totally frank and upfront with the doctor, giving them as much information as possible so that they can help you ā¦ thatās the point afterall, right?
My wife is currently translating a couple of books by a Dr. Zhang. He might be the Neihu connection mentioned above. Heās a talker type rather than a dispensing type. Iāll get a bit more info off the old lady and post it here. Sheās interviewed him several times now and says heās a good bloke.
I called San Jun hospital to ask to speak to the above-mentioned psychiatrist, Dr. Wan4 Fang1rong2, about mental health care for foreigners in Taiwan, and mentioned the assembly-line concern. He agreed, thatās pretty much the rule here, although he confirmed what I had heard about him, that he himself takes more time to talk. But in order to do that, he accepts only a smaller number of patients. Thereās the rub.
I asked whether there was anyone in Gaoxiong he could recommend for you, and he mentioned that if you go to the Veteransā General in Gaoxiong and ask for Dr. Lu4 Ti, éøę, and tell him that Dr. Wan Fangrong of Taipei recommended him as someone who would be willing to take more time to talk to you and help you personally, than Dr. Lu will probably squeeze in more time for you if at all possible ā but no guarantees, because if his hospital has scheduled 200 patients for him to see in 2 hours, his hands are tied ā better 1 minute each than to leave some of them without pills. :s
Very commendable of you to do such a thing Dragonbones :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: You get 5 karma points!!!
Have you guys been reading the Apple Daily?
How do you know if youāve got depression and should see a doctor, rather than just being bummed or sad. I mean, at what point do you say, I really should get some help, itās more serious than I thought. I am curious.
Generally the guide lines are, if you have been feeling āblueā or ābummedā for more than two weeks, then you have a clincal depression. If you are having thoughts of suicide or difficulty functioning in your life like before the ābluesā hit then it would probably be clinical depression. There are plenty of websites that can give you tests but by NO MEANS are these test meant to replace the oneās given by a physican or therapist.
Sorry to here that Juba. On the verge of cutting my ears off myself. Slowly climbing out of the hole with prozac (available with no prescription at your local pharmacy), excercise, creative activity, peace and quiet and by occassionaly giving vent to some honest emotion. Canāt say much about the quality of psychiatric care here or in my home country.
Namahottie, as always, hit it right on.
Of course, the time period of symptoms has to be weighed against the severity.
For example, if youāve been feeling mildly blue for several months, although you function well, you might want to seek help; just going to talk about it, maybe get some meds, etc. can help you feel better immediately sometimes. Also, time to get out and socialize more, and get exercise.
If youāve been feeling very down for two weeks or more, but still function āokā in your social and work life, get help promptly.
If youāve been feeling like you donāt know how youāre gonna make it until tomorrow, get help NOW, and if they tell you thereās a waiting list, tell them you need to see a doctor NOW. They should make room or refer you to someone else.
Good heavens thereās a lot of people here with a history of depressive illness. If itās been posted before, then itās still worth repeating: the widely used Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) says the following about major depressive disorder.
Cyberguerrilla,
I am sorry to hear you are dealing with depression. You are not strange and you do need help. My guess is you are not the only foreigner in Kaohsiung dealing with this. Unfortunately though in Taiwan there is little help. As recommended above, try the counseling center in Taipei if you can get up here, or give them a call and see if you can arrange some phone therapy. Or try to find a psychologist in Kaohsiung that can really spend some time with you, preferable one that is trained outside Taiwan and has experience with cognitive behavioral therapy. Any other kind of therapy is useless. These therapists can help you deal and learn how to cope with the depression as well as reduce your doage of drugs and get you off them completely.
I also suggest when it is sunny outside that you get out, sit in a park and read a book, do not stay in quiet, dark places. I would also suggest you get a color lamp, it may help. A full body cleanse may also be needed as the depression may be caused by parasites.
If you have any suicidal thoughts whatsoever you need to find a therapist, any therapist, immediately!
And how would one go about doing this full body cleanse in Taiwan? And what would consist of a full body cleanse
Hope you are not too desperate, and everything is ok.
I will be posting more information about that on my website as soon as I have enough time to do it. But in the meantime check some of the other recent posts I have made in the health forum. The information there is not complete, it is only part of it, what I write on the website will be more complete, but I donāt have time to write it at this moment, hopefully before the end of June.
Im in the middle of one of my depressive episodes 
:fume: and i am beginning to think that maybe it would help. Currently I am looking into doing a parasite cleanse. but i need to find the products any suggestions?